Articles
Effective copywriting for the web
By Cyndi Nguyen
I believe it may have been Winston Churchill that said, “People just don’t read on the Internet”. The fact of the matter is: people much prefer scanning to reading pages on the Internet. Why? For several reasons:
- You have to wade through a lot of bad content and ineffective websites to get to the really good ones. Scanning makes this process a lot quicker, and people are impatient.
- Even the good stuff warrants getting a second opinion. Most readers want to consult multiple sources for information, whether they’re researching a product they want to buy, or looking for an article about growing houseplants. Again, gathering this information quickly is important for impatient users.
- Have I mentioned people are impatient? You only get a few seconds to state your case and capture your reader’s interest – so make it good!
With this in mind, here are a few tips for effective copywriting on the web:
- Use headlines – This is enables scanning and will allow your readers to quickly find the relevant bits of information on your page.
- Group content into short, digestible chunks – Keep your paragraphs short. This will increase the readability of your pages. When people see long, dense chunks of text, their eyes tend to glaze over. Along with that, get to your point quickly.
- Use bullets – Bullets are a great way to punctuate the key benefits or main features of your services or products.
- Use visual aids – This is an effective way to get your message across faster. Not only does a diagram or graphic add interest to your page, it cuts down on that dreaded need for reading.
- Write in natural language – Unless you’re writing for a group of rocket scientists, keep language natural and casual whenever possible. The Internet tends to be quite informal in its speech and keeping your content easy to and understand will help you reach a wider audience.
